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Artemi Panarin scored in extra time as the Forest ranger They beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blueshirts lead the best-of-seven series, three games to none, and can close it out Saturday night.
Chris Kreider scored a goal in foul, Alexis Lafreniere gave the Rangers a lead in the third period and (stop us if you’ve heard this before) Igor Shesterkin He shined in net again, making 45 saves at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Rangers’ penalty kill unit had another tremendous game, holding second-ranked Carolina to 0 for 5 for the third straight game. The Canes are 0 for 15 on the power play in the series. Overall in the playoffs, the Rangers’ PK is 30 of 32 (93.8 percent).
Here are the conclusions
-The Rangers have won all seven of their playoff games so far and are the only team in the playoffs without losing. It is the second time in franchise history that they have accomplished the feat. The first was 1994. Does anyone remember how that season ended? The last NHL team to win its first seven playoff games was the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins.
-Lafrenière scored his goal with 13:35 left in the third period after a good assist from Panarin, who got the puck. Vicente Trocheck. Lafrenière shot the puck over the Carolina goalkeeper’s glove Piotr Kochetkov, who was a starter for the first time in the playoffs. It was Lafrenière’s third goal in the last two games.
-The Canes tied the score at 2 with 1:36 left in the third period when Andrei Svechnikov took advantage of a rebound from the slot. Carolina had taken out their goalkeeper for an extra attacker in a desperate attempt to get the tie.
-There were 15 minor fouls in regulation, which probably drove both coaches crazy. The Rangers had 16 penalty minutes and Carolina had 14.
-The first period ended with Carolina holding a 1-0 lead after the Canes spent much of the period driving the action, outscoring the Blueshirts, 17-7. Ranger Killer Jake Guentzel scored his third goal of the series by redirecting a Dmitri Orlov He beat Shesterkin with 9:46 left. It was Guentzel’s 11th playoff goal against the Rangers in just 10 games. The score was established thanks to the physical work of Svechnikov in the corner, when he took the puck and passed it to Orlov, triggering the play.
-The first period was quite physical and Carolina was credited with 16 hits to three for the Rangers. Each team disallowed a penalty and there were several simultaneous whistles after the scrums and resentments blossomed. Barclay Goodrow He pushed the puck under Kochetkov, which led to some pushes around the Carolina net.
At a point, Jimmy Vesey and Jesperi Kotkaniemi The gloves were dropped, but that didn’t go very far. Those two received two-minute penalties, as did Goodrow (unsportsmanlike conduct) and Orlov (brutality). Goodrow barked at the Carolina bench and, during a subsequent timeout, Tony DeAngelo He continued talking to the Ranger players and at one point left his gloves on the ice.
-The Rangers were more precise in the second half, generating multiple opportunities, including escapes by Panarin and Trocheck, although neither of them could take advantage of them. But the Blueshirts tied the score at 1 on a shorthand goal by Kreider with 11:30 left in the half. period. Mika Zibanejad He skated down the left side and fed Kreider in front of the net and Kreider used his backhand to redirect the puck. It was the third short goal of the playoffs for the Rangers and the assist gave Zibanejad at least one point out of seven. straight games.
Overall, Carolina outshot the Rangers, 21-13, in the period, but the Blueshirts were more dangerous. Kreider, for example, hit the post later in the period as the Rangers fell short again.
–Filip Chytilwho last played in an NHL game on November 2 due to injury, He returned to the ice and took up the third line. with Kaapo Kakko and Alex Wenberg. Chytil played only 10 games all season and scored no goals and had six assists, and at one point the Rangers thought Chytil would miss the entire season. To make room for Chytil in the lineup, Matt Rempe He was eliminated for the first time in the playoffs. Will Cuylle He moved to the fourth line to skate with Goodrow and Vesey.
-The Canes changed goaltenders for the third game and started again with Kochetkov. Frederik Andersen, who had played in Carolina’s seven previous playoff games. Kochetkov was the Hurricanes’ No. 1 goaltender while Andersen was out for the season with a blood clotting issue and went 23-13-4 with a 2.33 goals-against average.
During the regular season, Kochetkov only allowed two goals in two starts against the Rangers, a 1-0 loss and a 6-1 win. But he hadn’t played since April 14 and was making just his second career playoff start. Andersen allowed four goals in each of the first two games of the series and stopped 54 of 62 shots (a .871 save percentage). Andersen has a 2.58 GAA in seven games in these playoffs.
-After doing Evgeny Kuznetsov After a healthy scratch in Game 2, the Canes inserted the 31-year-old center back into the lineup on Thursday. Kuznetsov was one of Carolina’s big midseason acquisitions in a deal with Washington.
Game MVP
Panarin, who scored the winning goal with 1:43 left in overtime. He arrived after a redirection of a shot by Trocheck. He now has four goals in the playoffs, all of them decisive.
Reflexes
Whats Next
The Rangers will look to sweep the Hurricanes in four games to advance to the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night. The album delivery is at 7 pm
